"Since you don't know how to respect your superiors…"
Uchiha Kai's voice was calm, but his tone carried a chill that silenced the murmuring squad. His Sharingan gleamed with quiet menace.
"Then allow me to remind you."
The moment those words fell, Kai's figure blurred from view. Before the burly Uchiha chunin could even raise his guard, Kai appeared before him. His Sharingan swirled—three tomoe spinning—and in the same breath, he unsheathed the sword at his hip.
A pale blue chakra sparked to life, coating the blade in lightning. The next instant, there was no sound—only a flash of light and a grunt.
The burly Uchiha's body stiffened. His mind blanked. He collapsed, twitching on the ground, completely paralyzed.
Silence fell over the gathering. Every pair of eyes turned to Kai, who was already sheathing his sword. The sharp, oppressive aura radiating from him made hearts pound and backs stiffen.
His eyes—they weren't just cold. They were deadly.
Eyes like that didn't belong to peacetime shinobi.
They were the eyes of a man who had survived the frontlines of the Third Great Ninja War. A man who had seen comrades fall, who had made enemies scream and vanish. And now, those same battlefield instincts were being turned on his own clanmates.
That realization sent a quiet dread through the crowd.
He's not like us anymore… He's a survivor of hell…
Someone shouted—panic or fury, it was hard to tell. But it broke the silence, and the crowd surged forward in a wave of rage and fear.
It didn't matter how many there were. Kai didn't flinch.
They were dozens. He was alone.
But numbers aren't everything in a shinobi battle. Not when you're up against a Sharingan user like him.
A scream rang out almost immediately as Kai ducked low and delivered a precise strike to an attacker's abdomen. That ninja flew backwards, crashing into his teammates behind him.
Kai's body moved like water—smooth, calculated, lethal. His strikes weren't showy; they were efficient. His speed, enhanced by the power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, left even activated Sharingan users unable to track him.
Some tried to retaliate with kunai, others with basic jutsu. But their movements were sluggish compared to his insight. Kai's sword danced in arcs of azure light, dropping one assailant after another.
One enemy lunged with a blade, but Kai sidestepped, caught the attacker's wrist, and twisted.
Snap!
A cry of agony followed. Kai let the wrist drop and immediately ducked under another swing. He responded with a devastating punch to a weak spot in the ribcage. Another Uchiha fell.
Blood sprayed. Bones cracked. And yet Kai's expression never changed.
A thunder-charged palm struck another ninja's shoulder—dislocating it with ease. Kai seized the opening to draw his blade once more, his eyes flickering crimson.
"Elite? Hardly. You disgrace the clan by forgetting the chain of command."
The chakra flowing through his blade crackled ominously.
"Disobeying orders, drawing your weapons against a superior... Have you all forgotten what happens when you do this on a real battlefield?"
"Enough, Kai!" another voice barked.
It was Uchiha Tsubasa, one of the three captains of the Konoha Military Police Force. His face was pale with fury.
"Are you trying to kill them? They're our own people!"
Kai turned toward him, still calm.
"And they are my subordinates. Disobedient ones. Do you intend to shield traitors, Tsubasa?"
Tsubasa clenched his jaw, momentarily speechless. Nearby stood Uchiha Chiya, the third squad leader, face equally grim.
In the shadows of Konoha, the Police Force was not just a law keeping unit—it was a political battleground. With Kai's rapid rise through the ranks, the fragile balance had been disrupted.
They knew the truth: with Kai's promotion to Deputy Chief—a title likely gifted by Uchiha Fugaku himself—the power dynamics had shifted.
Fugaku wasn't generous without reason. Kai's ruthlessness served a purpose: to shake up the entrenched interests within the department. And neither Tsubasa nor Chiya were blind to what that meant for them.
Fugaku, for all his influence, had to placate the clan elders. Kai didn't.
Kai glanced between the two with detached contempt.
"You're angry because your influence is fading. But the chain of command is clear. If you have an issue, take it up with the Chief."
His Sharingan gleamed.
"But unless the Chief overrules me, I handle my team my way. And I don't appreciate being watched while I discipline my own men."
"You're going too far, Vice Captain!" Chiya finally exploded. "Are you saying you'd measure our own clan by wartime standards? Have you forgotten who you are?"
Kai tilted his head, voice quiet but cutting.
"You invoke clan loyalty when it suits you. But forget the clan's pride when you ignore the chain of command. You want to speak of identity? Then tell me—what authority do you have to question mine?"
Chiya's and Tsubasa's faces darkened.
Finally, Tsubasa stepped forward.
"Even if they disobeyed, this level of punishment is excessive. We'll let the elders decide."
The elders. That made Kai's eyes narrow.
In the Uchiha clan, elders were once respected veterans. Now, they were gatekeepers of power, leeching off old influence and entangling the younger generation in webs of clan politics.
Just like the Hyuga Elders who forced Hiashi's twin brother to die in his place, the Uchiha Elders were not above sacrificing others to maintain their status.
Kai scoffed.
"This is the Police Force. Discipline here is handled internally. I don't take orders from retired men hiding behind council chambers."
Chiya's tone grew colder.
"Refusing to answer to the Elders? That's a dangerous attitude."
"And what will you do?" Kai said, his voice like steel. "Challenge the Deputy Chief?"
Tsubasa and Chiya exchanged glances. They knew they were outmatched—for now.